Trail Blazers Notes: Glickman, Lillard, Carmelo
Trail Blazers founder and president emeritus Harry Glickman passed away on Wednesday at the age of 96, according to a press release from the team. When the NBA granted Portland an expansion franchise back in 1970, Glickman put together the group of investors who would cover the expansion fee and become the club’s initial owners.
Gilckman headed up the Blazers’ business and basketball operations departments for more than a decade after the team joined the NBA, helping lead Portland to its first and only championship in 1977. He was one of the shareholders that sold the franchise to Paul Allen in 1988 and maintained an active role with the team until his retirement in 1994.
“The Trail Blazers have long been the beneficiary of Harry’s vision, generosity, and inspiration,” current Blazers owner Jody Allen said in a statement. “As the team’s founder and first General Manager, his leadership was instrumental in igniting our city’s pride and passion for sports. I am grateful for Harry’s many contributions to the franchise over the years. He will be missed by many.”
Here’s more on the Blazers:
- In a conversation with Lisa Robinson of Vanity Fair, Blazers star Damian Lillard said he thought he might be sent to the Knicks a few years back, admitting that he had “heard trade rumors.” Lillard also said he has some concerns about the NBA’s restart plans, but trusts that the league is taking the necessary precautions to “keep us safe.”
- Speaking to Robinson, Lillard expressed plenty of confidence about the Blazers’ chances in Orlando this summer. Asked about the possibility of moving up to No. 8 in the West and potentially playing the Lakers in the first round of the postseason, Lillard replied, “I think we could beat them.”
- Trail Blazers forward Carmelo Anthony wants to learn more about the NBA’s safety protocols before getting fully on board with the summer restart, as he told Turner Sports during an #NBATogether stream on Wednesday. “As far as actually playing and going back down into Orlando, I’m still up in the air a little bit because we don’t have all the details.” Anthony said, per Scott Gleeson of USA Today. “We don’t know a lot of information, so until we have that, it’s hard to just commit to that 100 percent.”
NBA To Allow 17 Players Per Team In Orlando
Despite some whispers that the NBA may only permit teams to bring 15 players into the Orlando bubble this summer, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (via Twitter) that the league actually plans to allow 17 players per club.
The decision ensures that each team will be able to bring its two-way players into the bubble, even if that club has a full 15-man roster. That may lessen the need for those teams to convert players’ two-way contracts to standard deals before the postseason begins, though we still need more details on exactly how the roster rules will work.
In a typical season, two-way players are allowed to be on the bench during the playoffs but are prohibited from participating in games. It’s unclear, based on Charania’s report, whether the NBA has changed that rule for 2019/20 or whether two-way players will only be allowed to play in the eight seeding games before – as usual – becoming ineligible for the postseason.
Additionally, the wording of Charania’s report doesn’t make it clear whether teams will be permitted to bring up to 17 players to Orlando only if they’ve filled both two-way slots, or whether a team could carry, for instance, 16 players on standard contracts and one on a two-way deal. There are also no indications at this point that the NBA will be adjusting its usual limit of 13 active players per game.
Luguentz Dort (Thunder) and Chris Chiozza (Nets) are among the two-way players who were playing regular roles for their respective teams when the season was suspended in March.
Teams are expected to be restricted to traveling parties of around 35 people when they head to Orlando next month.
Pistons Notes: GM Search, Draft, Point Guard, More
As the Pistons continue their search for a new general manager, James L. Edwards III of The Athletic cites a high-ranking team source who says that prioritizing diversity during that process is considered “vital.”
As Edwards cautions, that doesn’t necessarily mean that Detroit’s next GM will be a person of color. However, it sounds as if the Pistons are casting a wide net as they consider candidates, and Edwards suggests he’d be “very, very surprised” if the team doesn’t hire a person of color to its front office this summer in some capacity, whether it’s as a GM, an assistant GM, or another position.
Here’s more on the Pistons:
- Within the mailbag linked above, Edwards says he thinks the Pistons may play it a little safer in the 2020 NBA draft after rolling the dice on 18-year-old Sekou Doumbouya a year ago. As Edwards points out, this year’s draft class isn’t considered particularly strong to begin with, and scouting has been a challenge due to the coronavirus pandemic. As such, it might be a good time for the club to take a player it’s confident will develop into a solid pro, even if that prospect doesn’t necessarily have superstar upside. Of course, Detroit’s draft strategy will hinge in large part on where the team ends up in the lottery.
- On an end-of-season conference call on Wednesday, Pistons head coach Dwane Casey said he thinks the team will look to acquire a starting point guard in the draft or free agency this offseason, per Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). Derrick Rose remains under contract for one more year, but thrived primarily in a sixth-man role in 2019/20.
- As Sankofa relays in a full Free Press story, Casey also said on Wednesday’s call that he was encouraged by the growth of the Pistons’ young players this season. “We found Christian Wood, who had an excellent season with us when a lot of people had given up on him,” Casey said. “Svi Mykhailiuk, I thought he made great strides as far as his shooting ability and his development. And also Bruce Brown, I thought Bruce took strides. I don’t think that he’s a starting point guard in our league. I think he’s going to be an excellent backup for us for whoever we get in that situation. But this year’s development of him is really valuable.”
- We passed along a few more of Casey’s end-of-season comments on Wednesday evening.
NBA Adjusts Target Restart Date To July 30
The NBA has slightly adjusted its target date for the first games of the resumed 2019/20 season, moving it up to July 30, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). The league had previously been targeting July 31.
[RELATED: Details On NBA’s Return-To-Play Plan]
Obviously, shifting that tentative start date by one day doesn’t represent a major change. Still, with teams in Orlando expected to have to deal with at least one back-to-back set during the eight seeding games and possibly again in the first round of the playoffs, each extra day that the NBA has to work with could come in handy.
It’s also worth noting that July 30 is a Thursday, which is typically a marquee night on the NBA’s weekly in-season calendar that often features a TNT doubleheader. In terms of attracting television viewers, it may make more sense for the league to relaunch its season on a Thursday than on a Friday.
The NBA still has to work out several details related to its return and finalize a revamped schedule, but the league now has a general idea of each team’s opponents during the eight seeding games, tweets Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.
Rockets’ Morey Talks D’Antoni, Harden, Playoffs
The Rockets currently rank sixth in the Western Conference at 40-24, and have just a 1.5-game cushion on the seventh-place Mavericks. However, they’ll also have a chance to move up in the standings when play resumes, since they’re tied with the fifth-place Thunder and are only one game back of the fourth-place Jazz.
There has been a little uncertainty about whether head coach Mike D’Antoni will be on the sidelines when play resumes, since D’Antoni’s age (69) may put him at increased risk of suffering more serious symptoms – or even dying – if he contracts the coronavirus.
However, speaking to ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey dismissed the idea that D’Antoni won’t be part of the NBA’s restart in Orlando. Morey also recently appeared on an episode of the Pomp Podcast with Anthony Pompliano (video link) and addressed a number of topics, including his perception of Rockets superstar James Harden and why he feels as though the NBA should play shorter postseason series.
Here, via MacMullan, Drew Shiller of NBC Bay Area, and the Pomp Podcast, are a few of Morey’s more interesting comments on those subjects:
On D’Antoni participating in the resumed season:
“Mike will be coaching our team. It would be such a huge disadvantage to lose him. We would never stand for that. In fairness to the league, they set up a process whereby everyone will have to submit a medical record. I’m sure the doctors told them that some people over a certain age shouldn’t go. But Mike is in great health. He’s in better shape than some 40-year-old coaches we have. Besides, I think his dad lived to be 108 or something.”
On the general perception of James Harden:
“I don’t think the media is super fair with him. … Part of it is he has a tight circle of people that he trusts. With those people who he knows have his best interest at heart and who he’s had a history with, he’s very gregarious, very open, very smart — just this great guy. And with everyone else, he’s not the opposite — he’s just reserved. He’s not someone who is going to be a big media guy or things like that. So, I think that hurts him a little bit. But I can I can tell you privately he’s like a basketball genius. He’s a great quality human being.”
On why Morey feels as if he hasn’t held up his end of the bargain with Harden:
“We’ve worked together for eight or nine years now and I couldn’t have a better partner to try and win a title with. And in fact, most days I wake up saying, ‘I’ve let him down because I haven’t gotten him the right players to win a title.'”
On why he thinks the NBA should have shorter playoff series:
“It’s the hardest to win a title in the NBA. There’s less variance. The favorites have a much bigger edge. … On an individual game basis, an NBA game is generally the most predictable of all the major sports. And just to make sure the right team wins, we play seven times. We should be one-and-done and the NFL should play seven times, for example, if you wanted to try to balance out the general variance.
“In my opinion, we should have shorter series so there’s more variance injected, because right now it’s too deterministic. It’s why you’ll see teams win six times in eight years or three times in five years. … It’s rare that you just win one, because once you get a systemic edge – which has happened many times, it’s usually you have the best player in the league – you end up winning multiple times.”
Restart Notes: Player Concerns, Reporters, Announcers
After reporting on Wednesday that several dozen players have expressed reservations about the NBA’s plan to resume its season in Orlando this summer, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski provided a few more details in a full story and in subsequent tweets.
According to Wojnarowski, approximately 40 to 50 players were “on and off” a conference call in a 24-hour stretch from Tuesday to Wednesday to discuss their concerns. However, there has been no formal petition to the NBPA from any group asking not to be included in the restart, sources tell ESPN.
The “restrictive and isolated” nature of the proposed Orlando bubble is a major issue being discussed ny those concerned players, per Wojnarowski. Players who leave the bubble are expected to be subjected a 10-day quarantine, and family members won’t be permitted to join players at Disney until after the first round of the playoffs — players will have been in Orlando for nearly two months by that point.
It remains to be seen how many players will seriously consider skipping the restart altogether. However, sources tell ESPN that if a player does decide not to participate, his team will likely be permitted to replace him with a substitution player. A player who is supplanted by a replacement player wouldn’t be eligible to participate in the remainder of the season, Woj notes. In other words, a player who stays home and gets replaced wouldn’t be able to change his mind and report to Orlando if his team makes a deep postseason run.
According to Wojnarowski, if a player has a medical issue that may increase his risk of suffering more serious COVID-19 symptoms, he’ll be permitted to seek an independent medical evaluation. Even if he’s deemed fit to participate in the resumed season, the player could stay home without consequence (beyond not being paid for the games they miss).
Here’s more on the NBA’s restart:
- According to a Professional Basketball Writers Association memo obtained by Robert Silverman of The Daily Beast, there’s a chance that a select group of reporters could be permitted to cover the resumed season and interact with players and coaches in Orlando. However, those reporters wouldn’t be permitted to re-enter the bubble if they leave, and their employers would have to pay for their housing during their three months at Disney, the cost of which may be prohibitive for many outlets.
- ABC and ESPN play-by-play announcer Mike Breen isn’t sure what the plans are for his role this summer, but hopes he’ll get the opportunity to call games in person in Orlando, as he tells Richard Deitsch of The Athletic. “We could possibly be doing games from a remote location, from a studio, or we could possibly be down in Orlando and doing the games there in a booth that socially distanced away from the players,” Breen said. “Everything is going to be determined over the next couple of weeks. But I would like to be in the arena to call the games.”
- A panel of ESPN writers takes a closer look at the nine competitors for the final three playoff spots, evaluating the cases for and against the Grizzlies, Trail Blazers, Pelicans, Kings, Spurs, Suns, Nets, Magic, and Wizards earning a postseason berth.
Latest On Jonathan Isaac, Al-Farouq Aminu
Jonathan Isaac‘s rehab from his sprained left knee is going well, sources tell Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. However, it’s widely expected that Isaac will not play once the season resumes. The Magic have been cautious with bringing their young talent back from injury, as they were with Isaac previously, Mohamed Bamba, and Markelle Fultz.
The status of Al-Farouq Aminu, who underwent knee surgery back in January, is also up in the air, though it doesn’t sound like he’ll rejoin the team. Getting healthy and getting in basketball shape are two different objectives.
“They have not played basketball in a long, long time,” president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said. “So it’s more than just saying, ‘Your knee is strengthened.’ It’s a matter of reconditioning and making sure that we’re not putting any of our players at risk for further injuries. So we’ll see as we go along how we get there. But I’m not prepared to apply any timeline or anything like that at this point. They’ve got a lot of work ahead of them.”
If the two forwards are not playing, it’s hard to see them joining the team in Disney World. The Magic are the current owners of the eighth seed in the East, sitting 5.5 games ahead of the Wizards for that spot.
Dwane Casey Talks Pistons’ Plans, Blake Griffin’s Health
The Pistons are one of eight teams not headed to Orlando, but their practice facility has been open for about a week and players are utilizing the space, Keith Langlois of NBA.com shares.
“We’ve had great participation,” Dwane Casey said. “But it’s one player, one coach, one basket. Each player has their own ball. Coach wears gloves. So it’s a very sterile situation. The weight training and the conditioning part is also very big and that’s what they’re doing, also. From a basketball standpoint, you can only do that so long before it gets stale.”
There have been rumblings that the NBA could afford the eight teams some form of competition before the start of the 2020/21 campaign and the Pistons love the opportunity to get back on the court with other clubs.
“I know there’s been conversations with the league as far as different options to get the group together to have some type of competition later in the summer – late July, August – so the league is very aware of it. I just think it puts us as a competitive disadvantage if we go from March 11 to Dec. 1 or whenever the season reconvenes,” Casey said.
“If it’s a mini-camp or a round-robin Summer League with four of the eight teams, (that) would be sufficient,” Casey added. “Different ideas have been put out there. Especially with a young team – and all of the eight teams are young teams – you can only drill one on one and try to get guys better from an individual standpoint (so much). The teams in Orlando have a competitive advantage by going against each other in a very competitive atmosphere and it really puts us behind the eight ball from a competitive standpoint.”
Prior to the Pistons’ opening their practice facility, the league granted the team several exceptions that allowed rehabbing players to use the facility. Derrick Rose and Luke Kennard were among those.
Blake Griffin underwent left knee surgery back in January and wasn’t expected to return for the remainder of the season even if the Pistons were invited to Orlando. Casey said the former No. 1 overall pick is on track with his recovery.
“I talked to Blake yesterday. Blake is doing well,” Casey said. “He’s got his workout. Blake is one of the hardest workers I’ve been around. He’s coming along. He’s right on schedule as far as his rehab is concerned.”
Not All Players Bullish On NBA’s Restart Plan
A faction of NBA players has been discussing as a group whether restarting the season in Orlando is a good idea, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that “several dozen” players took part in a conference call within the last 24 hours to talk about the issue.
Even as the NBA and NBPA get closer to reaching an agreement on many details tied to the league’s return to play, some players are hesitant to fully embrace the plan and have been discussing issues related to the return, including concerns about their families, COVID-19, and social justice, says Wojnarowski.
Players aren’t expected to be permitted to bring family members into the Orlando bubble until September, after the first round of the postseason concludes. Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press tweets that he has heard “many” players are unhappy about that fact.
Meanwhile, coronavirus cases appear to be on the rise in Florida, including in the Orange County region, where the NBA’s return would take place, as Reynolds tweets. Additionally, NBA analyst and former player Matt Barnes told Josiah Johnson (Twitter link) over the weekend that he has spoken to some players who want the rest of the season canceled in order to focus on addressing injustices in the Black community.
It’s not clear, based on Woj’s reporting, what percentage of players are having reservations about the resumption of the season or if their concerns will slow down a potential agreement between the league and the players’ union. However, even if those concerned players are outnumbered, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be forced to report to Orlando.
According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), the NBA and NBPA will likely agree on a provision that will ensure players aren’t subjected to discipline if they decide to stay home this summer when play resumes. Those players would lose a portion of their salaries for the games they miss, but otherwise wouldn’t be fined or suspended.
It remains to be seen how serious an issue this could be as the NBA gears up for a restart — we should get a better sense in the coming days and weeks about how many players are reluctant to participate and whether they’ll feel pressured to do so.
Hornets Notes: Offseason, Washington, Monk, Hernangomez
The Hornets lobbied to be included in the NBA’s restart this summer and are “very disappointed” not to be part of it, president of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak said on Tuesday, according to Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. However, Kupchak and head coach James Borrego accepted the league’s decision and will be satisfied with an opportunity to conduct team activities this summer.
As Bonnell details, Borrego thinks it would make sense for the bottom eight teams not invited to Orlando to be permitted to practice while the other 22 clubs are playing at Disney in August.
“The amount of time they’re spending with their teams and their players as a unit, we believe we should have the same. That would level the playing field a little bit more,” Borrego said. “For me, it’s more about the time that we have (to work with players and to scrimmage) — that it syncs with what (other teams are) getting in Orlando — and also the live play, which we don’t get a lot in the summer.”
Here’s more on the Hornets:
- Also within that Bonnell article linked above: Borrego said he thought P.J. Washington should be on this season’s All-Rookie First Team, and Kupchak said that the Hornets are still in talent-acquisition mode rather than focusing on fit. “At some point, we’ll hopefully be that advanced, to sit down and talk about, ‘Hey, we’ve got five or six guys with great talent, now how do they fit together?'” Kupchak said, according to Bonnell. “I don’t think we’re there right now.”
- In a separate article for The Observer, Bonnell digs into whether the Hornets have any realistic paths to acquiring a star player.
- Now that Malik Monk has been reinstated following his drug suspension, he’s set to enter a big year in 2020/21. As Scott Fowler of The Charlotte Observer writes, the Hornets may have to move on from Monk next year if he doesn’t take a noticeable step forward after three up-and-down seasons.
- Willy Hernangomez will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason, but he said today that he plans to remain in Charlotte for most or all of the summer, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Hernangomez added that he’d “love” to re-sign with the Hornets if possible. “I love Charlotte, I love the group of guys we have,” he said, per Bonnell (Twitter links). “I want to be part of the young core that we have.”